Former Labour minister urges voters to back Tories and stop Corbyn becoming prime minister

Independent election candidate Ivan Lewis urges constituents to vote against him on 12 December

Ivan Lewis is standing as an independent in the general election

(PA)

A former Labour minister has issued a plea to voters to back the Conservatives to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of 10 Downing Street.

Ivan Lewis, who was Labour’s MP for Bury South for 22 years and served in the administrations of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as well as Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, cited “serious antisemitism” within the party and Mr Corbyn’s “hostility” towards key allies as reasons for abandoning Labour.

Mr Lewis quit Labour last year after being suspended over a sexual harassment allegation, which he denied, and is standing as an independent candidate in the 12 December election.

He urged Bury South residents to vote against him in favour of his Tory rival Christian Wakeford and apologised to supporters who had already cast their postal ballot for him.

In a post on Facebook, he said voting Conservative in the constituency was “the only way for decent people of all faiths and none to say no to antisemitism and show solidarity with their Jewish neighbours, workmates and friends”.

In a message to former party colleagues, Mr Lewis said: “Corbyn’s Labour Party is not the Labour Party of our parents and grandparents.

“It is unreasonable of me to expect you all to leave the party because of antisemitism. But it is unreasonable of you to admit there is a serious antisemitism problem in the party then expect me to join you in the mantra ‘But the most important thing is we have a Labour government’. Imagine if this institutionalised racism was against any other minority community.”

He also criticised Mr Corbyn for what he said were “unaffordable” manifesto promises and said the party leader “has preferred the values of Russia and Iran to Britain and America all his political life (and) supported terrorists who have committed the most terrible acts of violence against innocent people”.

He said: “At this election, the future of our country is on the line like never before. The only way to stop Corbyn in Bury South is to vote Conservative.”

Mr Lewis’s announcement follows calls from former Labour MPs Ian Austin, John Woodcock and Tom Harris for voters to back the Tories, while ex-MP Kate Hoey has said she will vote DUP.

A Labour source said: “Ivan Lewis was suspended from Labour while we investigated serious sexual harassment complaints about him. He left the party shortly before his hearing, denying the complainants their opportunity for their case to be heard. He is not a credible voice on tackling discrimination.”